Review by New York Times Review
These enchanting tales include a magical wolf, a rampaging bunny and the latest from Sandra Boynton. HERE, GEORGE! By Sandra Boynton. Illustrated by George Booth The iconic cartoonist Booth sketched a nervous, lovable-looking dog as a gift to Boynton. She turned it into one of her famously funny, perfectly calibrated board books, spinning a droll story about a pup who won't get up - or so his owners think. 32 pp. Simon & Schuster. $7.99. Ages 0 to 5. CIRCLE ROLLS By Barbara Kanninen. Illustrated by Serge Bloch. In this delightful sneak-lesson in geometry, physics, and helping your friends when they're in a jam, some colorful shapes have a bang-up time when Circle starts rolling. In Bloch's minimalist, loose-limbed pen-and-ink art, tiny people try valiantly to pitch in, too. 32 pp. Phaidon. $16.95. Ages 3 to 5. BIG BUNNY Written and illustrated by Rowboat Watkins. Watkins ("Rude Cakes") conjures another homey yet mind-bending story in this bedtime tale about an enormous rabbit, regularsized carrots, some trucker penguins and bus-driving giraffes. The infectious fun continues to the ending, which will be - trust me - a giant, hilarious surprise to both parents and kids. 32 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. Ages 3 to 7. A HOUSE THAT ONCE WAS By Julie Fogliano. Illustrated by Lane Smith. Two kids walking in the woods find an abandoned house. Who lived there? What happened? Accompanied by Lane's evocative art that suggests layers of history, Fogliano's story turns this childhood scenario into a radiant poem about the mysteries of other people and the wonderfulness of home. 42 pp. Roaring Brook. $18.99. Ages 3 to 7. FOREVER OR A DAY Written and illustrated by Sarah Jacoby. In Jacoby's elegant debut, time is both a riddle and a poem: "Perhaps it is a ghost/ it can come and go/ and you never even notice it was there," she writes. Her soft illustrations, in lovely sunrise, sunset and moonlight colors, capture both wide-open spaces and the enduring bonds of family love. 40 pp. Chronicle. $17.99. Ages 3 to 7. MOON Written and illustrated by Alison Oliver. Oliver's picture book debut channels "Where the Wild Things Are" for the hovered-over modern child. Moon, a little girl with a big to-do list, wonders, "What would it feel like to be free?" A wolf arrives to whisk her away to a magical forest where she plays, listens, howls - and becomes an independent kid, keeping her "wolty ways," including (gasp) standing on a swing. 40 pp. Clarion. $17.99. Ages 4 to 7. JEROME BY HEART By Thomas Scotto. Illustrated by Olivier Tallec. It's rare to find a book about friendship between boys this heartfelt. His parents scoff at the intensity of it all, but Raphael wants to spend every minute with Jerome - his school-trip buddy, his defender against mean kids, the friend who always makes him laugh. Both the words and the sweet illustrations capture the spirit behind childhood bonds. 32 pp. Enchanted Lion. $16.95. Ages 4 to 8. RED SKY AT NIGHT Written and illustrated by Elly MacKay Each page of this beautifully designed book has an old-fashioned saying about the weather ("When ladybugs swarm, expect a day that's warm"). With Mac Kay's dreamy cut-paper collage art featuring two siblings exploring outdoors, the old-fashioned approach to weather is oddly reassuring. 40 pp. Tundra. $17.99. Ages 4 to 8. RESCUE & JESSICA: A LIFE-CHANGING FRIENDSHIP By Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes. Illustrated by Scott Magoon. Kensky, who lost both legs after the Boston Marathon bombing, despaired until Rescue, a service dog, arrived to help her navigate life with prosthetics. This sensitively told version- written with her husband, who also lost a leg in the bombing - highlights her relationship with the gallant Rescue. 32 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. Ages 5 to 9. THE DRAGON SLAYER: FOLKTALES FROM LATIN AMERICA Written and illustrated by Jaime Hernandez Hernandez, one of the brothers behind the Love and Rockets comic strip, adapts and updates three Latin American folk tales into a graphic-novel format. The buoyant results will delight all ages. A kitchen maid slays a dragon and marries a prince; a vain woman marries a mouse, with bad results; a boy cast out as lazy proves the logic of his approach. There's also fascinating historical material on the origins of each tale. 48 pp. TOON Books. $16.95. Ages 6 to 12. MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor of the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 30, 2019]
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Readers are let in on a secret in this story of a white dog that appears to spend much of his time perched on his knobby haunches and staring. When George's family calls to him-"Here, George!"-George stays perfectly still: "George does not move." After watching "the man and the lady and the child drive away" (they never appear on the page) and taking a nap, George perks up at the sound of distant music. Unexpectedly, "now George is dancing. And dancing. And dancing." Once George's family comes home and calls out to him, Boynton and Booth return to the previous formula: "George does not move, except for his happy tail." New Yorker cartoonist Booth demonstrates his keen sense of the comedy to be found in contrast, as George goes from being nonresponsive and glum to kicking up his heels when no one is watching. Ages 1-5. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Renowned cartoonists Boynton and Booth team up for a delightful day in the life of canine George.This white dog lives a sedentary life and prefers to sit and sport a sour grin as members of his family beckon him one by one. With the exception of who's calling, the first several pages are identical: "HERE, GEORGE!" says a voice. But "George does not move." However, after they leave the pooch on his own, he hears some music and gets up to dance Snoopy-style through a full double-page spread. When his humans return, they find George in the exact same position as they left himbut with some fond memories that summon a wag from "his happy tail." Boynton closes the work with the clever aside: "And he is wild about dancing. (Which no one knows but you)." Booth's iconic cartoon dog, made famous in the pages of the New Yorker, is constructed with a fluid and endearingly shaky line. He masterfully registers a change in mood with a simple upward flick of a cartoon grin or a sideways glance. Boynton's text is a simple and playful complement, rendered a stand-alone visual element by the decidedly Booth-ian faux handwritten typeface.It's a one-joke book, but with such master humorists at work, who needs anything more? (Board book. 1-3) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
